Crimping press



Nov. 2, 1965 G. H. LEONARD 3,214,957

CRIMPING PRESS Filed April 1, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 2, 1965 G. H. LEONARD 3,214,957

CRIMPING PRESS Filed April 1 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 2, 1965 G. H. LEONARD 3,214,957

CRIMPING PRESS Filed April 1, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 2, 1965 G. H. LEONARD 3,214,957

CRIMPING PRESS Filed April 1, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Nov. 2, 1965 G. H. LEONARD 3,214,957

CRIMPING PRESS Filed April 1, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 7-K) 2 E Y I g /4 :r E

G. H. LEONARD CRIMPING PRESS Nov. 2, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed April 1, 1963 United States Patent 3,214,957 CRIMPING PRESS George H. Leonard, Darien, COIIIL, assiguor to AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. Filed Apr. 1, 1963, Ser. No. 269,572 7 Claims. (Ci. 72-412) This invention relates to presses of the type intended for crimping electrical connectors onto the ends of wires or for similar compressing operations such as rivet setting.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved crimping press of simplified construction which is relatively compact and light in weight. A further object is to provide a press having means to permit rapid adjustment of the shut height of the press. A still further object is to provide a press having improved means for feeding electrical connectors in strip form to a position between the crimping dies. A further object is to provide a press in which the crimping dies can be easily and rapidly changed to permit crimping of diiferent types and sizes of electrical connectors. A further object is to provide a press having an improved means for changing rotary motion to reciprocating motion.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferred embodiment thereof comprising a frame made up of a pair of identical plates in side-by-side parallel relationship to each other. A relatively elongated lever is pivotally mounted between the frame plates and has a movable crimping die on one end thereof remote from the pivotal axis of the lever. The lever is swung about its pivotal axis by means of a pair of superimposed rollers movable between the underside of the lever and a fixed bearing surface thereby to move the movable die relatively towards a fixed crimping die to crimp an electrical connector positioned between the dies. These rollers are rotatably mounted on a carriage having pivoted thereto a plate on which a generally pear-shaped rack gear is mounted. This gear meshes with a pinion on a driven shaft, the arrangement being such that upon rotation of the pinion, the periphery of the pear-shaped rack gear moves relatively around the pinion thereby to move the plate along a path corresponding approximately to the shape of the gear. This movement of the plate causes the carriage and rollers to move relatively away from and towards the pivotal axis of the lever.

The embodiment of the invention which is described in detail below is intended to be used with terminals mounted on a flexible plastic tape in spaced-apart sideby-side parallel relationship. The tape is fed along a feed path by means of a reciprocable feed bar having fingers which engage the tape and urge it towards the crimping zone and between the crimping dies. This feed bar is oscillated by means of a bell crank lever having an elongated slot in one of its arms and having its other arm secured to the feed bar. A pin extending from the previously described plate extends into the slot so that the above-described movement of the plate causes the bell crank to be oscillated about its pivotal axis and to thereby cause reciprocation of the feed bar.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a press in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional side view of the embodiment of FIGURE 1 showing the positions of the parts when the jaws are in their open position.

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the positions of the parts when the jaws are closed, the die sets and die mounting blocks having been omitted from this view in the interest of clarity.

FIGURE 4 is a frontal view looking from the lines 4-4 in FIGURE 2 and with some of the parts broken away in the interest of clarity.

FIGURE 5 is a view taken along the lines 5-5 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the lines 66 of FIGURE 10 showing the crimping dies and the jaws of the press in the open positions.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged detail view taken along the lines 77 of FIGURE 6 showing the manner in which the die guide pins are mounted in the die supporting blocks.

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the crimping die set removed from the press.

FIGURE 9 is a view taken along the lines 99 of FIGURE 8.

FIGURE 10 is a full side view of the die set of FIG- URE 8.

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the lines 11-11 of FIGURE 4 and illustrating the details of the feeding means for feeding terminals in strip form.

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a section of plastic tape having terminals secured thereto.

FIGURE 13 is a view taken along the lines 1313 of FIGURE 2.

Referring first to FIGURES 1-3, a preferred embodiment of my invention comprises a pair of generally triangular frame plates 2, 4 secured in spaced-apart parallel relationship to a base plate 6 and maintained in their spaced-apart relationship by means of suitable spacer bars 8 extending between the opposed faces of the plates. On their lower ends, the frame plates 2, 4 are provided with a pair of projecting ears 10, 12 between which a die mounting block 14 is supported on a pin 16 which extends between and has its ends mounted in the ears. A fixed die assembly 18, which is described in further detail below, is secured to the block 14 by means of a dovetail connection 26. This fixed die assembly cooperates with a movable die assembly 22 which is secured to a block 24 by means of a dovetail connection 27. A cylindrical bushing 26 extends through, and is rotatably contained in, a transverse opening in block 24. Bushing 26 has an eccentric bore extending therethrough in which a mounting pin 28 is contained. The ends of this pin extend laterally beyond the block 24 and bushing 26 (see FIGURE 4) and are pivotally received in a pair of levers or arms 30, 32 on the righthand side and in a pair of levers 34, 36 on the lefthand side as viewed in FIGURE 4.

Eccentrically bored bushing 26 is provided for the purpose of permitting adjustment of the shut height of the press as will be described more fully below. In order to lock the bushing 26 in a particular position of rotation relative to the block 24, a pair of adjusting set screws are threaded into openings extending inwardly from the top and bot-tom of block 24 and project into recesses 31 in the bushing. In order to rotate the bushing relative to the block and thereby raise or lower the block relative to pin 28, it is merely necessary to back off on the appropriate one of the set screws and tighten the other until the bushing is locked in its new position of adjustment.

The levers 30, 32 are secured closely together in sideby-sicle relationship by means of rivets 38. These rivets extend through spacers 39 which are interposed between the adjacent sides of the levers thereby to maintain the proper spacing between them. The levers 34, 36 are similarly secured together in closely spaced relationship so that each pair of levers functions as a single lever for supporting the block 24 on its opposite ends.

The levers 30, 32 are mounted at their upper ends on a bushing 42, a spacer 44 being interposed to maintain them in their proper spaced-apart relationship. Bushing 42 is rotatably supported on a pin 40 which extends between and has its ends secured to the frame plates 2, 4 adjacent to the apex thereof. A washer 46 is positioned between the bushing 42 and the plate 2 again for the purpose of properly locating the arms 30, 32 in proper spaced relationship from the plate 2. As is apparent from FIG- URE 5, the levers 34, 36 are similarly supported on the pin 40 and adjacent to the frame plate 4.

A bearing plate 48 is secured to the levers 30, 32 on their undersides and extends from a location intermediate the ends of the levers down to their extremities. A similar bearing plate 50, is provided on the other set of pair of levers 34, 36. The bearing plates 48, 50 are opposed to and parallel to substantially similar bearing plates 52, 53 which are secured as by welding to a first pair of fixed arms 54, 56 and a second pair of fixed arms 58, 60, FIG- URES 13. The arm pairs 54, 56, and 58, 60 are fixedly secured with respect to the frame plates 2, 4 by means of suitable pins 62, 64 and the individual arms 54, 56 and 58, 60 are maintained in their proper spaced-apart relationship with respect to each other by means of spacers 66 similar to the spacers 38 previously described. The levers 30, 32 and 34, 36 are normally biased in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 2 by means of a spring 31.

Arcuate movement is imparted to the levers 30, 32 and 34, 36 by means of a pair of superimposed rolls 68, 70 which are movable relatively downwardly from the retracted position of FIGURE 2 to the position of FIG- URE 3. It will be noted from FIGURE 2 that the several bearing plates 48, 50, 52 are contoured in a manner to provide generally convergent surfaces so that as the rolls move from the position of FIGURE 2 to the position of FIGURE 3, the roll will function as a wedge and the movable levers will be swung in a counterclockwise direction about their pivotal axis 40 thereby to move the movable die assembly relatively towards the fixed die. The bearing plates 48, 50 advantageously have an intermediate abrupt ramp section 49 while the bearing plates 52,, 53 have a similar abrupt ramp section 51. These .ramp sections cause the movable die assembly to be moved through a large portion of its stroke in response to a relatively limited movement of the rolls during initial movement of the rolls. Roll 68 is mounted on a pin 72 and the roll 70 is mounted on a pin 74, suitable bearings indicated at 76 in FIGURE being provided on the ends of the rolls between the pins and their respective rolls.

As is apparent from FIGURES 2 and 5, the pins 72, 74 have their ends secured in a pair of parallel generally oval shaped plates 78, 80 disposed between the pairs of arms and the opposed sides of the frame plates 2, 4. The plate 78 in the disclosed embodiment is of a somewhat heavier gauge metal in the plate 80 although the two plates are otherwise similar. An additional pin 82 extends between the plates 78, 80 and has its ends secured to the plates at the ends opposite from the ends which are connected by the pins 72, 74. The pair of plates 78, 80 taken in conjunction with the pins 72, 74, 82 constitute a carriage for the rolls to which an oscillatory motion is described in a manner which will be described immediately below.

A sleeve 84 is rotatably mounted in surrounding relationship to the pin 82 by means of suitable bearings 83 at each end of the pin as is apparent from FIGURE 5. A pair of guide rolls 86, 88 are rotatably mounted in surrounding relationship to the sleeve 84 at each end thereof which guide rolls are received between the opposed sides of the levers and fixed arms, the roll 86 being disposed between the levers 30, 32 and the fixed arms 54, 56, while the roll 88 is disposed between the levers 34, 36 and the fixed arms 53, 60. The primary function of these rolls 86, 88 is to roughly guide and support the carriage during its oscillatory movement as will be apparent as the description proceeds.

Intermediate its ends, the sleeve 84 is provided with a radially extending collar 90 to which a laminated mounting plate is secured by means of screws 94 extending through the collar 90 and through the three laminations 91, 92, 93 which comprise the plate. This plate extends between the levers 30, 32 and 34, 36 relatively towards the lower end of the press and towards the power rolls 68, 70 as is shown best in FIGURE 5.

Pear shaped openings are provided in the two upper plates 92, 93 of the plate assembly while additional and separate pear-shaped plates 96, 98 are secured to the plate 91 and positioned centrally in the opening, the relative sizes of the plates 96, 98 being such that a pear-shaped channel 100 remains between the parallel sides of the plates 96, 98 and the opposed sides of the plates 92, 93. A pear-shaped double rack gear 102 is secured to the upper surface of the plate 98 and has teeth on its periphery which project slightly over the channel 100. The teeth on this pear-shaped rack gear mesh with a pinion 104 mounted on a reduced diameter end 106 of a shaft 108- extending through the side plate 4. Shaft 108 is coupled by means of a pulley 110 to an electric motor 112, preferably through a suitable Clutch mechanism to permit cycling of the press through a single revolution.

It will be apparent that upon rotation of shaft 198, the pear-shaped rack gear 102 will move relatively around the pinion 104 thereby to cause the carriage to move generally downwardly and to the right from the position of FIGURE 2 to the position of FIGURE 3 and to thereafter return to the starting position of FIGURE 2.

The plates 78, 80 will move along a substantially straightline path although these plates change their orientation slightly during each stroke as is explained in more detail below. The supporting plates 91, 92, 93 on which the pear-shaped gear 192 is mounted will, however, oscillate about the axis of pin 82 during forward and rearward motion of the carriage since the pear-shaped gear which is rigidly secured to these plates must move relatively around the pinion 104. The path of movement of the plates 91, 92, 93 is accurately controlled by means of a guide roller 101 on the end of shaft 106 which is received in the groove 109. This guide roller maintains the pinion and pearshaped gear in meshed relationship throughout the circuit, and takes the normal separating thrust between meshed gears of this type.

The disclosed embodiment of the invention is particularly intended for crimping terminals which have previously been secured to a plastic belt 114 in spaced-apart side-by-side parallel relationship as shown in FIGURE 12. In the disclosed embodiment, it is intended that the belt of terminals will be packaged in a box from which they may be withdrawn at the time of use. The terminals are led down over a ramp 122 extending between the frame plates 2, 4 and towards the crimping zone.

Feeding of the belt is achieved by means of a pin 124 secured to and extending laterally from the laminated plate structure 91, 92, 93 towards the frame plate 4. A reduced diameter end section of this pin extends laterally beyond and through the plate 80 and is received in a slot 126 in one arm 128 of a bell crank lever, see FIGURE 11. Advantageously, a bushing 123 is provided on the end of pin 124 to guide its movement relatively along the slot daring movement of the pear-shaped gear about the p1n1on.

The upper arm 134 of the bell crank as viewed in FIGURE 11 is pivotally connected at 136 to a connecting link 138. This connecting link is adjustably secured to a feed bar 140 which extends along frame plate 4 towards the lower end of the press. The lefthand end of this feed bar has a pivotal connection 142 to a flat strap member 144 which in turn is pivotally mounted at its opposite end on the upper end of the ear 12. In the embodiment disclosed, a fiat disk 146 is rotatably mounted in an opening in the upper end of strap 144 and the disk in turn is rotatably supported by means of a bar or pin 148 which extends through the disk and has its ends secured in the cars 10, 12. For reasons which will be explained below, the disk 146 is eccentrically mounted on the bar 148 with the bar extending through the disk at a location below its geometric center as viewed in FIGURE 11. The strap 144 and disk 146 are retained in position by means of a plate 150 mounted in spaced relationship to the inner surface of the ear 12.

The belt of terminals is fed along the upper surface of the ramp 122 towards the crimping zone and the edge portion of the belt in the vicinity of the ears 18, 12 is resiliently clamped between the opposed surfaces of a fixed clamping block 156 and a resiliently mounted clamping block 158. The block 158 is supported at each end by means of flat springs 160 secured to the block at one of their ends and anchored at their opposite ends to blocks 162 on the frame plate 12. The purpose of clamping the belt in the vicinity of the feed fingers is to hold the belt relatively flat against the underside of block 156 so that the feed fingers will push the belt, during leftward movement in FIGURE 7, without causing it to buckle.

Feeding movement is imparted to the belt by means of spring fingers 152 which extend obliquely leftwardly and towards the plane of the belt as viewed in FIGURE 11. These fingers comprise relatively stiff wires which are anchored to a mounted block 154 on the end of the feed bar 140. The ends of these fingers are engageable with the perforations of the belt to push the belt leftwardly during leftward movement of the feed bar but the fingers. will ride over the belt without moving it during rightward movement of the feed bar.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that feeding of the belt takes place in the following manner. During travel of the pear-shaped gear relatively around the pinion, the pin 124 will be caused to move along the more or less oval-shaped locus indicated in FIGURE 11 while the pin is confined in the slot 126. Such movement of the pin causes oscillation of the bell crank around pivotal axis 130 with resulting arcuate oscillation of the pivotal connection 136. The feed bar 140 is thereby caused to oscillate along a generally arcuate path which is different for different sections of the bar. The lefthand end of the feed bar moves arcuately along the path indicated in FIGURE 11 and the feed fingers, during leftward movement along this path, push the belt a distance equal to the spacing between adjacent terminals on the belt. During rightward movement, the feed fingers ride over the belt which is restrained against movement by virtue of its having its edge clamped between the blocks 156, 158. The belt is also restrained against retrograde movement by virtue of the fact that the leading terminal on the belt will be undergoing crimping, during rightward movement of the fingers, and will be gripped between the crimping dies during this interval.

Referring now to FIGURES 6-10, the upper die assembly comprises a mounting plate 164 having a dovetail on its upper side for engagement with the mounting block 14 and having suitable crimping dies 166, 168 secured on its lower side. In the disclosed arrangement, these dies are mounted by means of a die mounting block 170 secured to the plate 164 and having suitable slots for engagement and retention of the dies. The lower dies 172, 174 which cooperate with the dies 166, 168 during a crimping operation are contained in a lower die mounting block 176 which, in turn, is mounted on a lower die mounting plate. The two blocks 170, 176 are guided along a rectilinear path towards and away from each other by means of suitable guide pins as shown secured in one of the blocks and extending into a drilled hole in the other one of the blocks (FIGURE 7).

A guide funnel 180 is advantageously provided on the upper block 170 to guide the wire relatively towards a second or split guide 182, 184, the parts of which are mounted respectively in the lower die block 176 and in the upper die block 170. Such mounting of these parts of the split guide frontal is achieved by means of springs 186 which urge the parts of the split guide towards each other and by means of keepers 188 mounted on the shanks of the guides and extending into openings in the block 176, 170. This arrangement is such that as the dies approach each other, the two parts of the guide will come into engagement with each other and guide the wire relatively towards a terminal positioned between the crimping dies.

In order to hold the tape on which the terminals are mounted against the surface of the ramp 122, there is provided a retaining bar 181 which extends parallel to and slightly above the surface of the ramp. This retaining bar is secured at its lower end to a generally triangular plate 183 through which the pin 148 extends at the upper end of the plate, the plate being secured to the pin so that upon clockwise rotation of the pin as viewed in FIG- URE 1 the bar 181 is swung in a clockwise direction and out of engagement with the terminals on the tape. A knurled sleeve 185 is non-rotatably mounted on the pin 148 to facilitate manual rotation of the pin when it is desired to disengage the retaining bar from the tape.

Ordinarily, when the retaining bar is moved out of engagement with the tape, it is desirable to simultaneously disengage the feed fingers 152 from the tape in order to remove the tape or to thread a new section of tape into the feed mechanism. Such simultaneous disengagement of the feed fingers is achieved by means of a rod 187 which extends from the sleeve 185 towards the ear 12 through the oversized opening in the plate and through a restricted opening in the bushing 146. Manual rotation of the pin 148 will thus result in a rotation of the bushing 146 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 11 with a resulting lowering of the lefthand end of the feed bar 140. It will be apparent from FIGURE 11 that this effect is achieved by virtue of the eccentric relationship between the pin 148 and the bushing 146 and by the relative rotation of the bushing in the upper end of the strap 144.

When a die set is mounted on the blocks 14, 24, the block 24 will he maintained in alignment with the block 14 by virtue of the die pins which extend between the fixed and movable die. When the die set is removed, it is apparent that the block 24 would be free to rotate relatively around the cylindrical bushing 26 if not restrained. It is therefore desirable to provide a means for retaining the two blocks in alignment under these circumstances. The disclosed embodiment is provided with a pin 192 which extends into an opening in the bottom of the block 24 and which is mounted in a bushing 194- secured to the frame plate 2. This pin also assists in maintaining the movable die in alignment with the fixed die when the dies are mounted in the press.

In operation, the parts will be approximately in the position shown in FIGURE 2 at the beginning of the cycle. The operator first positions a wire within the terminal which is disposed between the crimping dies and sets the press in motion by means of a suitable clutch on the shaft 108 (not specifically shown). Pinion 104 is then rotated in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 2 causing the pear gear 102 to move relatively around the pinion until it returns to its starting position. During movement of the pear shaped rack gear, the carriage and the rolls which are mounted on the carriage move relatively downwardly while the portion of the gear along AB moves past the pinion. The dies will approach each other and the shut height of the press will be achieved when the portion of the periphery of the pear gear indicated at B is in engagement with the pinion 104. Thereafter, as the portion of the periphery of the pear gear B-C moves relatively past the pinion, the rolls are retracted to the starting position of FIGURE 2.

During the cycle, feeding of the tape on which the terminals are mounted takes place as described above, that is while the pin 124 moves along its substantially oval-shaped locus to swing the bell crank about its pivot point 13% and oscillate the feed bar 140. Retraction of 7 the feed bar and the feed fingers takes place while the dies are moving towards each other, that is during the crimping of the terminal and feeding of the tape takes place while the dies are moving apart.

Several salient advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the foregoing description. An important advantage is that the output of the motor 112 through the pinion 104 is utilized in a manner such that the maximum force is developed at the crimping dies during the final stages of the crimping operation when the force requirements for crimping are at the maximum level. This selective utilization of the force of the power developed is achieved by virtue of the inclination of the bearing plates 48, 50 and 52 at their lower ends. The abrupt ramp portion of these bearing plates provides for a substantial amount of travel during the initial portion of the travel of the rolls while the gentle slope of the lower ends of these plates provides the force requirements for the final stages of crimping.

It will be noted that the entire press can be fabricated from stamped plates, many of which are identical, for example, the plates comprising the fixed movable levers, the frame plates, and the oval-shaped carriage plates.

A further advantage of the disclosed embodiment is that the friction developed by the rolls 70, 68 is primarily rolling friction rather than sliding friction. It will be apparent that as these rolls move from the position of FIGURE 2 to the position of FIGURE 3, they will be compressed between the bearing plates of the fixed and movable arms. The compressive stresses in these rolls are transmitted from the upper bearing plates 48, 50 to the lower bearing plates 52 entirely through the rolls and not through the pins 72, 74 on which they are mounted. Since the roll 68 moves relatively over the surfaces 48, 50 and the roll 70 moves over the surfaces 52, 53 and finally since the rolls themselves move relatively over each other, there is always relative rolling movement at the interfaces which bear the highest stresses.

An additional feature of the disclosed embodiment of the invention is that the orientation of the rolls relative to the bearing plates 48, 50 and 52, 53 is intentionally changedvery slightly during their movement from the position of FIGURE 2 to the position of FIGURE 3. This change in roll orientation is advantageous for the reason that if the orientation change were not effected, the upper roll 68 would travel a slightly lesser linear distance over surfaces 48, 50, when the roll assembly goes from the position of FIGURE 2 to that of FIGURE 3, then the distance traveled by the lower roll 70 over the surfaces 52, 53 because of the arcuate movement of the surfaces 48 and 50. This set of conditions would cause some slippage of the roll 68 with respect, to the underside of the lever. Slippage, in turn, would result in sliding friction between the parts and in accelerated wear. In the disclosed embodiment, the entire carriage, including the rolls, is caused to change its orientation slightly by virtue of the movement of pin 82 towards the axis of rotation of pinion 104 while the section AB of the rack moves relatively along the pinion and the rolls move forwardly. This change in orientation of the rolls can be visualized by considering an imaginary line connecting the centers of rotation of the rolls 68, 70; such a line will change its orientation with respect to the bearing surfaces 52, 53 during movement of the parts from the position of FIGURE 2 to that of FIGURE 3 and the roll 68 will therefore travel the same distance as the roll 70. During return movement of the rollers, their orientation shifts back to the original position. As a result of this feature of the disclosed embodiment, substantially no slippage takes place between the rolls and their bearing surfaces.

Iclaim:

1. A press comprising, a pivoted lever, movable work engaging means on said lever remote from the pivotal axis thereof, a fixed work engaging means mounted for cooperation with said movable work engaging means, a fixed bearing surface extending alongside said lever on one side thereof, wedge means movable between the underside of said lever and said fixed bearing surface to swing said lever about its pivotal axis, said wedge means being mounted on a carriage, a gear mounted on said carriage in a plane extending normally of the pivotal axis of said lever, and a pinion in engagement with said gear, said pinion being rotatable about a fixed axis whereby, rotation of said pinion causes said gear to move relatively around said pinion thereby to move said wedge means along said bearing surface, to swing said lever about its pivotal axis, and to move said movable work engaging means toward said fixed work engaging means.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said gear comprises a double rack pivotally mounted on said carriage whereby, said rack moves relatively around the periphery of said pinion thereby to move said wedge means along said bearing surface.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said wedge means comprises a pair of superimposed rollers on parallel spaced-apart axes, said axes extending parallel to the pivotal axis of said lever, one of said rollers being in contact with said underside of said lever and the other of said rollers being in contact with said bearing surface, said rollers being in tangential contact with each other along a line extending between said parallel axes of rotation of said rollers, said rollers being in rolling contact with each other, said one roller being in rolling contact with the underside of said lever and said other roller being in rolling contact with said fixed bearing surface whereby rolling friction, rather than sliding friction, is developed between said rollers, said lever, and said bearing surface.

4. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said gear comprises a pear-shaped double rack having a large radius remote from the pivotal axis of said lever and having a small radius proximate to the pivotal axis of said lever, said gear having opposite divergent sides extending be tween said small radius and said large radius, said opposite divergent sides extending substantially parallel to the line of motion of said wedge means when said sides move relatively past said pinion.

5. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said gear comprises a generally pear-shaped double rack having a large radius remote from the pivotal axis of said lever and having a small radius proximate to the pivotal axis of said lever, said gear having opposite divergent sides extending between said small radius and said large radius, said gear being pivotally mounted on said carriage externally of its periphery and between said small radius and said pivotal axis of said lever whereby, upon relative movement of the gear around said pinion, said divergent sides extend substantially parallel to the direction of movement of said wedge means.

6. A crimping press for crimping electrical connectors onto wires comprising, a pivoted lever, a movable die on said lever remote from the pivotal axis thereof, a fixed die mounted for cooperation with said movable die, a fixed bearing surface extending alongside said lever on one side thereof, wedge means movable between the underside of said lever and said bearing surface to swing said lever about its pivotal axis, said wedge means being mounted on a carriage, a gear mounted on said carriage in a plane extending normally of the pivotal axis of said lever, a pinion in engagement with said gear, said pinion being rotatable about a fixed axis whereby, rotation of said pinion causes said gear to move relatively around said pinion thereby to move said wedge means along said bearing surface and to swing said lever about its pivotal axis, an oscillatable bell crank for feeding connectors in strip form to a position between said movable die and said fixed die, and means acting between said carriage and said bell crank for oscillating said bell crank during movement of said carriage.

7. A press comprising a pivoted lever, movable work engaging means on said lever remote from the pivotal axis thereof, a fixed work engaging means mounted for cooperation with said movable work engaging means, a fixed bearing surface extending alongside said lever on one side thereof, said fixed bearing surface and said one side of said lever being convergent in a direction extending away from the pivotal axis of said lever, a pair of superimposed rolls disposed between said fixed bearing surface and said one side of said lever, means to move said rolls between said lever and said bearing surface along a path extending away from and towards the pivotal axis of said lever thereby to swing said lever about its pivotal axis, and means for changing the orientation of said rolls with respect to said bearing surface and said lever to compensate for the differential in travel between the roll in engagement with said lever and the roll in engagement with said fixed bearing surface.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PRESS COMPRISING, A PIVOTED LEVER, MOVABLE WORK ENGAGING MEANS ON SAID LEVER REMOTE FROM THE PIVOTAL AXIS THEREOF, A FIXED WORK ENGAGING MEANS MOUNTED FOR COOPERATION WITH SAID MOVABLE WORK ENGAGING MEANS, A FIXED BEARING SURFACE EXTENDING ALONGSIDE SAID LEVER ON ONE SIDE THEREOF, WEDGE MEANS MOVABLE BETWEEN THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID LEVER AND SAID FIXED BEARING SURFACE TO SWING SAID LEVER ABOUT ITS PIVOTAL AXIS, SAID WEDGE MEANS BEING MOUNTED ON A CARRIAGE, A GEAR MOUNTED ON SAID CARRIAGE IN A PLANE EXTENDING NORMALLY OF THE PIVOTAL AXIS OF SAID LEVER, AND A PINION IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID GERA, SAID PINION BEING ROTATABLE ABOUT A FIXED AXIS WHEREBY, ROTATION OF SAID PINION CAUSES SAID GEAR TO MOVE RELATIVELY AROUND SAID PINION THEREBY TO MOVE SAID WEDGE MEANS ALONG SAID BEARING SURFACE, TO SWING SAID LEVER ABOUT ITS PIVOTAL AXIS, AND TO MOVE SAID MOVABLE WORK ENGAGING MEANS TOWARD SAID FIXED WOTK ENGAGING MEANS. 